


I fell in love with the fire long ago

by Book_Elf



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sleepy Cuddles, The Whole Team Knew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:42:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24115957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Book_Elf/pseuds/Book_Elf
Summary: Karasuno has just won Nationals in Japan with a final point from their ace Asahi. During the chaos and after, Asahi finds his attention returning back to Nishinoya as the team prepares to go back to Karasuno. With everything coming to an end, maybe it's time to start something new.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio (background), Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi (background)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 146





	I fell in love with the fire long ago

**Author's Note:**

  * For [natisrapunzel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/natisrapunzel/gifts).



> Happy Birthday to my girl! I blame you for my new obsession with Haikyuu!! Title is from Hozier's "Would That I."

It was done. They had done the impossible. Karasuno had won nationals. The whole team was frozen where they had been on the court when the ball slammed into the court on the other side of the net. Asahi’s arm was still extended down from the powerful spike that he had smashed through the triple block of the opposing team.

The whole stadium was silent except for the ball rolling out of bounds. The other team’s libero was sprawled on the ground where he had dived for the ball and missed.

Asahi’s eyes widened as the reality of the situation dawned on him. Strands of sweaty hair that had fallen out of his headband hung limply in his eyes, obscuring his vision off the scoreboard that read 33-31.

Karasuno – 33.

They won.

The silence broke and the whole team exploded into action, surging towards Asahi as a screaming flurry of black and orange. Nishinoya got to him first and launched onto Asahi’s back. Asahi reflexively reached back and gripped under his libero’s so that he could stay perched on the ace’s back. Noya screamed and threw his arms into the air in triumph. He leaned into Asahi’s back to stay balanced and used Asahi’s grip on his thighs to rise up higher in excitement.

Asahi barely had time to blush as he processed Noya’s muscular thighs cradled in his hands as the smaller boy plastered along his back before the rest of the team was upon them.

Hinata was practically bouncing out of his skin with joy, his sunny face glowing in awe of his upperclassmen’s skill and power. Kageyama was right behind the redhead, followed closely by Daichi and Tanaka. The boys all tackled the ace and libero, sending them crashing to the ground in a pile of crows. As soon as they were allowed, the rest of the team rushed in from the sidelines and joined the players on the court. There was a lot of screaming and crying.

“I’m not crying!” Tanaka protested with tears streaming down his face.

“Sure you’re not,” Noya conceded with a smirk, tears of joy pooling in his own eyes. Neither was really concerned with keeping up their token manly appearances given the situation.

The third years were all huddled together, laughing deliriously as they all hugged each other.

“We won,” Daichi said like he couldn’t believe it.

“Nice job, captain,” Suga praised and punched his captain in the shoulder. Daichi flinched but took the blow as the compliment it was.

“And thanks to our ace!” Suga reached up and ruffled Asahi’s hair, completely pulling it out of the lose bun. The brown hair fanned out around his face, sticking to his sweaty face.

“Yeah! We have the best ace in the country!” Noya cried as he reached over and swept Asahi’s hair off his face. Asahi felt his face heat up as the fluffy-haired boy’s hand brushed his cheek and tucked the strands behind his ear.

Coach Ukai finished his own celebration and calmed down enough to start corralling his boys from a heap of limbs back into a respectable volleyball team.

“Come on, kids! Time to shake hands. Up!” Coach yelled and clapped his hands.

“Okay, guys, let’s go shake hands and get our trophy!” Daichi called as he picked himself and dusted himself off. He took the time to grab Suga’s hand and haul his vice-captain to his feet. He also helped Asahi get up, but the ace noticed that Daichi held on to Suga’s hand long after he had let go of Asahi’s.

The boys all managed to get up and line up at the net. They shook the opposing teams hands, and Asahi had enough empathy to feel bad for the boys mirroring them with tears of sadness rather than joy. The pity was quickly overshadowed as the team went to receive their trophy and individual medals.

As the lined up to thank their fans, Asahi looked around at the boys who had taken this journey with him. Daichi and Suga shared satisfied smiles with him. As third years, this was the culmination of everything they had worked for in high school. It finally paid off. Asahi was just grateful that he had come back this year. Thankful that Noya had seen something in the dejected ace when he himself couldn’t. If it weren’t for the chaotic libero, Asahi wouldn’t be here right now. None of them would be here right now. 

Asahi looked down at Noya who stood next the Asahi in the line and felt an overwhelming gratitude towards the shorter boy. The ace was practically choking on the emotions welling up in his chest as he stared at Noya. The libero seemed to sense eyes on him and glanced up at Asahi with a huge grin on his face before giving the ace a wink and turning his attention back to the crowd. 

Looking further down the line, Asahi chuckled when he saw Kageyama’s hand fisted in the back of Hinata’s shirt to keep the redhead from bouncing off the ground. The relationship between the two first-years was complex, flipping back and forth from being at each other’s throats to seeking comfort, so Asahi wasn’t surprised to see Kageyama being an anchor for Hinata as the middle blocker was overwhelmed by his emotions.

Maybe seeing so many of his teammates being physically affection gave him courage or maybe it was the adrenaline still coursing through Asahi, but he gave in to his urge to reach over and touch Nishinoya.

He slung his arm over Noya’s shoulder and let it rest heavily there, letting the weight settle as the libero didn’t protest the affection. Noya didn’t even seem to react, and for a second Asahi thought his affection went unnoticed as Noya continued looking up at the cheering fans. Then Noya reached up with his own hand and latched on to Asahi’s bigger one hanging across his shoulder before leaning into Asahi’s side so they were pressed flush from Noya’s shoulder to hip.

Maybe it wasn’t the most outgoing gesture in the world to convey his feelings, but Noya knew it meant something more coming from Asahi.

The two had been dancing around each other all season. Neither would confront the unaddressed feelings between them but everyone could tell they were both pining for the other. Asahi’s eye always shined bright when Noya saved his power serves. Noya’s grin was always the biggest and most feral when Asahi spiked through a block. The worst was when Asahi got a point off of Noya’s save. The joy between the two caused enough momentum to power the team through the whole set.

It was obvious to the team that the tension that had built up over the season was going to have to break at some point.

This win just might have been the breaking point.

After the cheering had ended, the team gathered all their gear and went to change out of their sweaty uniforms before heading to the hotel for the night.

Asahi made sure to stay close to Noya for the whole walk to the locker room. He finally feel like he had the courage to confess to the libero about his feelings for him. The successful last spike combined with being the last game of his high school career gave him the motivation he needed.

The boys all changed into their sweat suits for the quick ride to the hotel. Asahi couldn’t help but admire the lithe muscle of Noya’s back as he stripped off his special orange jersey. While the libero wasn’t as bulky as Asahi, he was still well-muscled from his tendency to over-practice. It was impossible to ignore Nishinoya’s powerful thighs when Asahi knew how firm they felt in his hands. 

_Don’t think about that_ , Asahi thought as he shook his head, _You want to tell him how you feel. Don’t be a pervert._

Asahi kept quiet as they all piled on the bus. He didn’t want to make a scene by confessing in front of the whole team. It wouldn’t be fair to Nishinoya if he felt like he had to react a certain way because his teammates were all watching. Asahi wanted this to be a private but genuine conversation between Noya and him, and that couldn’t happen with the peanut gallery all cheering in the background. Asahi shuddered as he thought how Tanaka would laugh in his face if he were there.

The room setup was similar to how it usually is for the team with the boys in one big room and the staff in another room, so Asahi still didn’t have an opportunity to talk to Nishinoya alone until after dinner. Most of the boys were settling down for the evening before Asahi saw Noya without Tanaka or Hinata hanging around him.

“Hey, Noya…” Asahi asked hesitantly, one hand rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, “Can I talk to you outside for a sec?”

Noya blinked up at Asahi from where he was setting up his sleeping roll. “Huh? Oh sure, Asahi.”

The rest of the team watched as their ace and libero left the room quietly together.

Suga chuckled and nudged Daichi who was sitting on the mat next to him. “Finally.”

Daichi smiled, “I’m surprised he didn’t chicken out.”

“I’m more surprised Noya let it go this long.”

Outside, Asahi led Noya to a hallway a little way away from the room to avoid any unwanted eavesdroppers. Noya barely stopped himself from commenting how Asahi was leading him by holding his hand, but he didn’t want to scare the ace by being too forward. He wanted Asahi to come out and say it.

“What’s up, Asahi?” Noya asked as they came to a stop. The libero could see Asahi losing motivation as the silence dragged on.

“I… I just wanted to tell you how awesome you were during the game today. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

Noya smirked at the larger boy who was fidgeting and avoiding eye contact. He crossed his arms and widened his stance, effectively blocking Asahi from escaping back to the room.

“Is that all you wanted to tell me? You needed to talk to me alone for that?”

“Uh, not exactly…”

“Then just say it, man. Don’t chicken out on me now.”

“Well, I…. I wanted to tell you how I feel. Everything I have right now is because you dragged my ass back to this team when I was too afraid to come back and face being blocked. Even when I came back and got blocked, you were always there, diving for a dig to save the ball. You always had the team’s back, and you _always_ had my back. I wasn’t lying when I said we couldn’t have done it without you. We wouldn’t have even made it past the preliminaries if you weren’t there to bail us out. Even mor than that, you are the one who’s always lifting everyone’s spirits and cheering the hardest when you were on the sidelines.”

Asahi paused for a breath and saw that Noya was smiling up at him. That gave him the courage to keep going.

“Besides that, you’re such as a dynamic and captivating person off the court and I love spending time with you. Some of my best high school memories are with you. Walking to the store after practice with you and the team and even bus rides when you would just _not shut up._ I know that my high school career is coming to an end, but I want to keep spending time with you. I’m hoping that you’ll consider dating m…”

Noya fisted the front of Asahi’s shirt and tugged the ace down to his height before capturing his lips in a fierce kiss. Asahi was so surprised he almost toppled onto Noya before barely managing to catch himself on Noya’s shoulders.

It took a second before Asahi processed what was going on and he could return the enthusiastic kiss.

They broke apart and Asahi straightened up as much as he could with Noya holding on to him.

“I take it that’s a ‘yes’ then?” Asahi laughed as he glanced down at where Noya still had his shirt firmly gripped.

“Of course it’s a ‘yes,’ you big dummy. I’ve been waiting for you to buck up the courage to ask me out for months.”

“What? Why would you wait? Why couldn’t you ask me?” Asahi pouted slightly. It kinda hurt that the younger boy had made him be the one to confront the tension between them.

“Because I didn’t want to force you to admit your feelings before you were ready.”

“You’re way more outgoing than me though! It would have been so much easier if you had said something!”

Noya gave him his signature smirk, “Well maybe good things are worth being difficult. Hopefully, I’m worth the time and effort.”

“Well, of course you are!”

Noya chuckled and finally released his hold on Asahi’s shirt. “Well, then I’m glad you found the balls to ask me out. Even though it sucks that we don’t have a lot of time together before you’re done school.”

Asahi grabbed Noya’s hand in his larger one, “Actually, since I’m not going to college, Coach Ukai asked me to stick around and be the assistant coach for the team so that I can make Tanaka and Hinata into proper aces.”

It was Noya’s turn to be surprised. “What? Really? That’s awesome, man!”

“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Asahi murmured as he leaned down to kiss Noya again.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

When they got back to the hotel room, they were holding hands and trying to hide their kiss-swollen lips.

They couldn’t get away with it though because the whole team broke out in cheers when the snuck in.

After all the teasing and smug congratulations, the whole team settled down for the night.

Asahi was slightly surprised when Noya dragged his sleeping mat away from Tanaka and over to him.

“You didn’t think I was going to miss the opportunity for cuddles now, did you?” Noya laughed as he settled down in front of Asahi. He pushed back until his back was flush against Asahi’s chest.

Asahi took it all in stride. One of the things he loved about Noya was how forthright he was, so he might as well get used to it.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Asahi murmured, copying Noya’s words from the hallway before gently kissing the back of his libero’s neck.

Asahi woke to the pleasantly warm weight of his libero in his arms. Noya never complained about his height because it didn’t really affect his game as a libero, but Asahi couldn’t help but feel happy for the other boy’s short stature in that moment. Asahi was all but engulfing Noya with his body curled around him, one leg thrown over his and arm curled around his waist. Even though Noya was the one in his arms, it made Asahi feel safe and secure knowing the feisty boy he loved was with him. He could get used to this.


End file.
